"You seem to be managing your TT account quite well."Cynthia Muse genuinely hadn't expected Fly to pull her into shooting a short video. Looking closely, she realized his account actually had over a hundred thousand followers.

  Although it couldn't compare to those full-time, top-tier streamers, gaining this many followers in just a few days was already incredibly impressive.

  "It's alright," Fly shrugged, putting his phone away.

  Even with over a hundred thousand followers, no legitimate advertisers had reached out to him. The few sponsorship offers he did get felt pretty sketchy.

  Aside from the highlight clips of the Freshman Invitational, his subsequent daily life vlogs hadn't gotten much traction. In fact, other than the first few videos that blew up, his current content was only bringing in a few dozen bucks a day.

  Thinking about Cynthia's status, Fly was really hoping she could hook him up with some reliable e-commerce sponsors.

  "I haven't really interacted with people in that field," Cynthia smiled.

  While she admired Fly's business acumen, she came from a family of martial artists. When it came to running short-video accounts, she was completely out of her depth.

  Just like that, Fly and Cynthia made small talk in the car, and before long, they arrived at the outskirts of the city.

  Long before his retirement, Grandmaster Muse had bought a mountain in Star City and built a villa halfway up its slopes.

  Fly immediately felt the sheer extravagance of the estate.

  If Cynthia hadn't been leading the way, he figured he would have gotten lost in no time.

  After walking for roughly twenty minutes, Fly finally made it to the door of the study.

  Cynthia pressed a finger to her lips, signaling Fly to be quiet, before knocking gently on the door twice.

  "Come in," a somewhat weathered male voice echoed from within.

  Cynthia promptly opened the door, gesturing for Fly to enter.

  "Thanks, Miss Cynthia," Fly didn't forget to be polite before stepping inside.

  But the moment Fly stood inside the study, he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

  Good lord!

  Just this one room was about the size of two of his dorms combined. It was filled with a dazzling array of expensive oil paintings and vintage wine displays.

  Fly had never seen such a luxurious study in his life.

  "Hello, Fly," that weathered voice echoed through the room.

  Fly followed the sound and saw a middle-aged man with snow-white hair sitting in an electric wheelchair. He was wearing a simple blue dress shirt, with a blanket draped over his legs.

  The man looked incredibly exhausted. The heavy dark circles and sagging bags under his eyes practically screamed that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a very long time.

  "Greetings, Grandmaster Muse!" Fly responded politely.

  Muse gave a slight nod, taking a good, long look at Fly. Then, fiddling with the controls on his wheelchair, he moved toward his desk. "Come here."

  Hearing this, Fly slowly followed Grandmaster Muse's wheelchair over to the desk.

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  "Take a look," Muse said mildly, tapping a stack of documents on the desk.

  Fly: "???"

  For a moment, Fly was completely baffled.

  What's going on?

  Weren't we supposed to be doing the whole 'taking a disciple' thing?

  Why is he having me read paperwork?

  "Grandmaster Muse, what is this?" Fly raised an eyebrow, picking up the documents.

  "This is the Apprenticeship Contract I've prepared. It outlines some of the requirements I have for you."

  Fly: "???"

  Good lord, what is wrong with this world?

  When the Student Council invited me, they wanted to sign a contract.

  Now Grandmaster Muse wants to take me as a disciple, and he wants to sign a contract too.

  Is everyone here addicted to signing contracts?

  "What if I don't sign it?" Fly asked in return.

  Although he had lived two lifetimes, Fly didn't delude himself into thinking he could outplay an old fox like Muse when it came to legal documents.

  He wasn't a law major, nor had he ever worked in a related field. How was he supposed to understand every single twisted clause in a contract?

  Fly's response caught Muse off guard.

  With his reputation, who knew how many people were dying to become his apprentice.

  Forget signing a contract; if he told them to walk through fire, they probably wouldn't even blink.

  Yet this kid, Fly, was actually pushing back.

  "Can you give me a reason?"

  "What if you're trying to scam me?" Fly blurted out directly. "I'm just a high school student. How am I supposed to understand all the legal traps hidden in a contract?"

  Muse: "???"

  When Fly refused to sign, the worst-case scenario Muse imagined was that Fly was already bound by other relevant contracts.

  People wanting to rope in a highly talented young Beast Warrior like Fly were probably a dime a dozen.

  Someone beating him to the punch would be completely understandable.

  But Muse never in a million years expected that Fly's reason would be fear of getting scammed.

  Are you kidding me?

  Sure, Fly's talent is outstanding, but who am I? A highly renowned Grandmaster of Martial Studies!

  Would I really stoop so low as to trick some wet-behind-the-ears high school Beast Warrior into signing predatory clauses?

  Do I look like I have nothing better to do?

  "Do you have persecution paranoia?" Grandmaster Muse's tone was no longer as mild as before.

  "Not really. It's just that I almost got screwed over by a Student Council contract before. Once bitten, twice shy," Fly said while flipping through the clauses.

  Fly felt that this looked less like an Apprenticeship Contract and more like an employment agreement.

  "Star City High's Student Council?" Muse sneered. "Those little brats always did like playing their petty games."

  "Rest assured, there are no hidden traps in my contract. If you don't believe me, you can go find a law firm and have them look it over."

  "Furthermore, if you sign this contract, I can offer your Beast Totem a chance for Evolution, completely free of charge."

  "Evolution?" Fly's gaze sharpened.

  After the ordeal of the Freshman Invitational, Fly had gained some understanding of Beast Totem Evolution.

  Evolution was, in essence, a type of mutation.

  A mutated Beast Totem could end up stronger or weaker than before. When a mutated Totem became stronger, it was referred to as "Totem Evolution."

  In recent years, with technological advancements, totem evolution could be artificially intervened. Just like how Gideon King used Artificial Mutation to evolve his original Komodo Dragon Totem into The Golden Draconian Totem.

  But, this approach had its drawbacks. Although artificially mutated totems looked fierce, their foundation was inferior to natural Beast Totems of the same tier.

  So, hearing Grandmaster Muse say this immediately made Fly feel a wave of apprehension.

  Seeing Fly's hesitant expression, Grandmaster Muse had a pretty good idea of his concerns. He spoke up, "Don't worry. The Evolution I provide is completely different from the so-called Artificial Mutation you see out there."

  "Those artificial methods clumsily graft data from stronger totems onto the original one. The Evolution I offer, however, unlocks the innate potential already hidden within your totem."

  "In other words, I maximize the latent potential that inherently exists within your Beast Totem. It's on a completely different level from those forced, cookie-cutter methods."

  These words took Fly by surprise.

  Unlocking the innate potential of a Beast Totem? But with the help of the Insect Fusion System, his Beast Totem was constantly evolving.

  If I could come here for an Evolution every time I absorb the power of a new Beast Totem, then...

  Fly didn't dare think any further. He could practically see a broad, golden road to the future slowly unfolding before him.

  Beside him, Grandmaster Muse continued, "Under normal circumstances, Beast Totem Evolution carries risks. But as you've seen with The Scroll of Martial Heart-Tempering I created, under the protection of my Psychic Energy, the risks during your totem's Evolution can be suppressed to the absolute minimum."

  "Even if we initiate the Evolution today, there won't be any issues."

  "Consider it a welcoming gift from me."

  Muse paused for a moment before continuing, "Now, can you tell me... what exactly did you see when you were undergoing the trial of The Scroll of Martial Heart-Tempering?"

  Although Muse could sense who had broken through the scroll, he couldn't directly observe Fly's Sea of Consciousness. Naturally, he had no way of knowing what had actually transpired inside Fly's mind.

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